Sound of rain

*The sound of rain fades in*

"Kill him."

"B-But what are we going to do when he gets reported missing? The police will be on our trail for sure!"

"I don't care, I have connections in the police force that can arrange for this to be covered up."

I was being mugged in an alley, just off a busy street, late at night. I had gone out to get some pain medication for my little sister, who had a bad case of the flu. My parent's were too busy taking care of her to drive me, so I decided to take a walk and go get it for her. On the way back, I thought to take a shortcut. I had no idea this could be the last mistake I would ever make.

I watched them, my eyes wide open as the gun was pressed to the back of my head. The cold metal touched the skin on my scalp. It was an atrocious feeling, and was so bad I began to start retching onto the pavement. 

"Don't shoot him until I tell you to, I want him to really soak this moment up."

"Aw, the poor guy's terrified" Another robber chimed in.

I looked up, pleadingly, at the man. He looked back, smiling with a crazed and demonic smile. He then turned his leg back, and swung it towards my head. It made contact, and my ears began ringing with a sound I had never heard before. And all I could feel was the pain. It felt like hundreds of firecrackers went off in my upper body all at the same second. It was blinding and I was unable to think. My breath hitched, and all I could manage was to breathe shakily.

"H-H-Hel...p..." was all I could manage to get out between breaths. The sense of impending doom quieted my mind down. It was almost ethereal, feeling the rain pitter-patter on my back as I looked down onto the concrete. The hard pistol was still pressed into the area where my cerebellum was, creating such a sense of unease there it felt like it was on fire.

"Why don't we shoot... Now."

*Bang*

As unfathomable pain filled my head, filling in like water from the back of my skull, all I could feel was regret for my family. If they were here, I could have apologized to each one for how I am leaving them behind. I haven't even graduated highschool yet. I haven't made my parent's proud in any way, shape, or form. I wouldn't be able to watch my sister grow up. I felt regret over not accomplishing my dreams, and grief due to the fact that they were over before they were even started. I pitied how my relationships were going to be torn, with me fading into darkness without even one chance to really do what I wanted. All I wanted was to live life. I know I had sinned and made mistakes, but I really, just really wanted to live life like everybody else.

As the darkness encroached on all corners of my vision, I felt myself fading away. It all happened so fast, in under the few milliseconds the bullet left the gun. I lost all feeling, and my vision dimmed. All of the terror and self-pity was replaced with peace.

It's really over, isn't it.

With this newfound sense of calm, I slipped away.

*C-R-R-R-R-R-R-A-C-K-K-K-K*

It started as a small dot in my vision, but quickly expanded to all areas on my eyes. My eyes flew open. I saw a blinding, but somewhat warm yellow light. I anxiously rubbed my eyes, trying to make out whatever I could. Then came the wind. A warm-gentle breeze enveloped my body. I felt the water on my skin from the rain being taken away, undampening my skin.

I slowly opened my eyes, and was struck with one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.

It was the late afternoon. Right in front of me, I saw a deep lake of sky blue. Dotted across it was groups of lilypads, which koi fish of all colors swam between. Across the lake, a waterfall gently cascaded onto the rocks, which caused ripples to move across the surface of the water. Along the lake was a ring of yellow-white sand, which tapered gently into grasslands, which in turn progressed to a forest of bamboo, much mightier and taller than anything I had ever seen before.

I walked down to the shoreline to look into the water, and someone I had never seen before looked right back at me. 

My appearance for the previous 15 years of my life was considered anything but unique. I had black hair which I kept fairly short, and dark-brown eyes that were present in the majority of the world's population. I was always wearing my school uniform, which consisted of a black button down and black pants, and lately this was the only pair of clothes I really wore.

This new person had medium-length flowing red hair, just barely brushing the tops of their shoulders. It contrasted nicely with their eyes, which were of a light golden, my sister's favorite color. They had a long, sleeveless black tunic on with red accents on top of a white inner shirt. They had dark grey trousers on as well, with a red belt separating the two halves.

I moved my hand hand to touch the water, and the person in the reflection did the same. This was the moment when I realized that this was my reflection, and not someone else. I was in awe. Why do I look like this? Where am I? Is this heaven?

I looked around, almost as if I was asking for answers, yet only the serene lakescape responded with it's sights and smells. I decided to get up and go down the right side of the lake, as that shore went out of vision.

After walking for a couple of minutes, the right side of the lake came into view. Right past the shore was a quaint cottage, the kind you would see in fairy tales. I walked over to it and began to look around. There was a small well, a little shed, and the remains of a campfire, although it was quite old. I walked over to the door and knocked, but no one answered. After trying the door, I learned it was unlocked. Walking inside, there was a cute little room which was a mix of a living space and a kitchen. A small green couch was tucked to the side, with a table just in front. On the other side there was a washbasin and counter with some knives on the wall. It was very sparing, yet extremely cozy. Across, I saw a door which must lead to another room.

I moved across the room to the other door. I opened it to reveal a small bedroom with a twin size bed, and a little nightstand. It had a flower quilt draped over it, yet it was covered in atleast a year's worth of dust.

I then concluded that this was someone's getaway house, but they haven't been here in awhile. I decided to sit down on the couch and think.

"Where am I?" I said aloud. I thought of numerous possibilities, but none of them made any sense. After all, it shouldn't be possible. I could be in another world or in the past, but how would that have happened? I drew blanks on the answer, and was left more confused than before. 

"I know I died." These words would have been crazy for me to say a mere hour ago, yet I was still in shock and couldn't fully process this fact. Perhaps because I died, this was heaven or the afterlife. If that was true, is there a god or a divine entity that will appear before me? Or am I destined to live out eternity in this place? These thoughts were so large in magnitude that I didn't have the willpower to think about it, and I would come back to at another time. 

Looking out the window, it was sundown. I felt hungry, so I decided to look around for something to eat. I looked in the cabinets under the counter in the kitchen, and pulled out a salted piece of meat that had definitely been there for a long time. I was not going to eat it at first, but my stomach changed my mind. It was hard to pull off and hard to chew, and was extremely sticky. I remember hearing that this meant it went bad, but I was too hungry to care. I would find better food another time.

After finishing up, I went outside. To the side of the house was a shed, and I immediately started walking towards it. I opened it to find an weapon's shed, with a set of black armor hung up against the back wall. To one side I found a sword with a black hilt and a glowing blade, adorned with twin red and blue dragons flying around a clear orb. Beside it was a miniature version of it, the size of a dagger. It looked too expensive to be here, but it really didn't matter. I had never used a sword or put on armor in my life, but I decided to grab both for protection and a way to pass the time. The last of the light from the sun was quickly fading, and I decided to go back into the house.

I set the armor and swords by the door, and went out to get some water from the well using a pitcher I found in the kitchen area. There, I heard it.

Something was rustling behind me. I turned around, yet saw only the tall stalks of bamboo behind me. It looked normal, yet something was telling me to run. I immediately took the pitcher and went back into the house and shut the door. All I could hear was the wind swishing through the plants, and right after the adrenaline stopped, I heard it.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

It wasn't extremely loud, but it wasn't unnoticeable either. It sounded like something was walking through the forest, yet being careful to not tear down any of the plants. I being the calm and collected person I am, decided to hide in the house.

I immediately went to the corner of the living room and cursed. I knew monsters weren't real, but I had never heard something like this before. Maybe it was an elephant, like my sister's favorite animal. I stayed there for a minute or two, listening as the steps got closer and closer. 

Then, the doorknob started turning.

I run to the doorway, grab the sword, and immediately run back to the corner. The door opens fully, and what looks to be a branch appears in the door. Then, another appears parallel to it, almost like a set of arms. I then see the twisted trunk of a tree with yellow eyes and a wide mouth bend under the door, shuffle through, then straighten itself out to look at me with it's eyes. 

*A-R-R-R-R-G-H-H-H-C-C-C-C-K-K-K*

With this, it lunged forward at me. 

*SCRATCH*

At the last second, I brought up the sword to parry away it's arm. I had never used a sword before in my life, so my skill was terrible and I was extremely clumsy with it. 

It redrew it's arm, and readied for another punch, this time with the opposite arm. I need to get out of this corner quick so I can have a fighting chance.

*SCREECH*

I deflected it's attack a bit faster than last time. It slid right past me, and a branch quickly jetted off from it into my side. However, as quickly it went in, it also came out. The end result was more to the tune of me getting stabbed quickly, which caused my blood in my side to go everywhere. I grimaced in pain and bent over.

I thought about I had died already, and how painful that was. I never wanted to experience something like that again in my entire life, yet the strength to fight against my fate was leaving me rapidly.

Am I really going to die again?

I really don't want to.

Then you better do something about it.

*A-R-R-G-G-H-H-H-H*

With that, I poured the remainder of my strength into my attack. I thrusted at the midsection of the beast, with my sword penetrating cleanly through and out the other side.

*Wheeze*

 It made a shallow, raspy breath, and died fairly quickly. I took the sword out of its body, and noticed the transparent orb had put on some color, a tinge of brown just like the monster I had just killed. I looked down to my wound, only to discover that it was gone, and only a hole in the fabric remained.

A few minutes later, and the adrenaline wore off. I realized what I had done.

"I really killed something, didn't I."

The guilt was overwhelming. I couldn't breathe. I knew how it felt to die, and I knew that the only way for me to live was to kill that thing. And yet, I was still struck with such sadness over its death precisely because I knew how it felt to die. I had never felt this way when I had killed anything in my previous life. I killed bugs without a second thought. I had read about the hundreds of millions of people to die in wars and yet it all seemed so far away, as if I was lightyears away from it. 

I cried and mourned the monster, and my old life. I stayed that way for a few hours, crying until I fell asleep there against the wall.

I stayed there, sleeping, until morning. A couple hours after daybreak, I awoke. It was quiet and peaceful, and I could hear the waterfall close by, still bubbling away.

The doorknob began to turn again.

I shot up, grabbed the sword between both my hands, and bent my knees into a slight crouch. I watched as the knob finished turning and the door opened.

*CREAK*

Light filled the room, illuminating everything somewhat majestically. 

A girl walked into the room. She had long, beautiful, light blond hair. Her face was extremely attractive, having a small nose and big, blue-green eyes. Her clothes were of a pretty white traveling dress, separated in half by a black belt. Her dress was adorned with light blue and black stripes crossing her shoulders, chest, and abdomen. On her side, an expensive-looking turquoise wand was strapped to her belt.

I look at her astonished. She looks back at me, just as surprised as I was.

She looked down, collected herself, and looked back up at me.

"Hello there."

"....H-Hello."

"Who are you?"

".....Uhh..."

"Wait! My apologies. I forgot that it is common courtesy for the one asking to give theirs first. I am Takahasi Kayori." She said, then smiled and tilted her head.

I stared at her, still dumbfounded.

"Are you okay?" She asked concerned.

"Yeah! I'm just fine." I moved into place for my signature greeting that I had done the past 8 years of my life ever since I saw my favorite anime mc do it.

"My name's Mugi Amehiko. I have no idea what I'm doing but I hope we can become great friends!"

She chuckled, and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Well Amehiko, it's a pleasure to meet you."